"The Mirror of the Sea" and "a Personal Record"

"The Mirror of the Sea" is, in Conrad's own words, "a very intimate revelation...of my relation with the sea", in which he explores a "full confession of emotions" evoked by the particular ships and their captains, winds, storms, oceans, continents and islands, cities, nautical terms, and heroism which he experienced during twenty years of seagoing life. "A Personal Record" is Conrad's autobiography, as full of arresting, thoughtful imagery as any of his novels.

It describes his repressed childhood in Poland, his love for the sea, and the thoughts and experiences which shaped his work as a writer. "I haven't known distinguished men on whom I could pass fatuous remarks.

I haven't been mixed up with great or scandalous affairs.

This is but a bit of phsychological document" - Joseph Conrad.